Star Trek meets Revenge of the Nerds: the making of Black Mirror's Emmy winner USS Callister

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It’s an irony the dystopian minds behind Black Mirror will surely appreciate as they consider where on their mantelpieces to set their latest haul of Emmy awards. On a night when television’s big players scooped most of the major prizes, one of the standout British triumphs at the 2018 Emmys was an episode of the Charlie Brooker–Annabel Jones anthology show that fondly parodied that great cliche of American popular culture: the Star Trek-style space opera.

USS Callister had already been acknowledged as one of the greatest ever Black Mirror episodes before being nominated at the Emmys for best TV movie, best writing on a limited series and, for Jesse Plemons, outstanding lead actor in limited...